The directors of Disney’s ‘Elephant’ explain what drew Meghan Markle to the film

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 09: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends the Commonwealth Day Service 2020 on March 09, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)

Elephant co-director Vanessa Berlowitz has revealed the reason why Meghan Markle decided to return to acting with the Disney documentary, which she narrates.

Berlowitz told People, “She was absolutely intrigued by the elephants and transfixed, especially by the female empowerment side. How important the matriarchs are to the story; it really is all about female leadership.”

“It’s a different form of power — it’s about consensual leadership. It’s also very inclusive, as well — very contemporary. She was absolutely fascinated by that.”

After Berlowitz and her co-director Mark Linfield held some tentative talks with Markle about her working on the film, they then had to see if the former royal’s voice actually fit.

Elephant is now available to watch on Disney+ (Image by Disney+)

Rather than asking Markle to come in and audition, though, Linfield and Berlowitz formulated a different plan to hear her voice alongside the footage. They used one of her United Nations women’s speeches against the picture, and, thankfully, “they just worked great.”

Meghan then recorded her narration at Pinewood Studios in London last October, with Harry even joining her in the studio, and, at times, corrected some of her pronunciation, too. Although, their young son Archie was, rather wisely, left at home while they worked.

Berlowitz and Linfield were clearly ecstatic with the end results, too, with producer Roy Conli adding, “She made it her own. I always say, ‘If you feel something, do it, make it organic.’ She’s such a diligent professional and she wanted to get it right. It was a delight all the way around.”

Elephant revolves around a heard of pachyderms trek across the Kalahari Desert in search of water, a journey that sees them travel around 1,000 miles.